Female first for football fan club:
WIN, lose or draw, die-hard football fan Dashnie Govender bleeds Liverpool FC red.
The 28-year-old of Silverglen was recently elected the first female chairperson of the Liverpool Supporters Club in Durban. She’s the only one in the country in to hold such a position.
With the English Premier League starting this week, with the first match between Manchester United and Leicester City on Friday, this super excited fan is hoping The Reds reign supreme.
“This season is the best opportunity for us to win because we have some of the best players, including Mohamed Salah, and a great manager in Jurgen Klopp. Aside from everyone else in the team, I have been impressed with both these guys, and since their addition, there have been big differences,” said Govender, a procurement co-ordinator at a petro-chemical company.
“During the recent friendly we beat Manchester United, and I was super excited about that. In recent years, we have been constantly changing managers, but with Klopp, you can see the team’s form start to show. This past season we did brilliant, and we were so close to a win.”
While her sister Yurissa is a die hard Arsenal fan, Govender said her parents, Rajen and Tracy, used to support other teams, but their blood now also bled red. Silverglen resident Dashnie Govender is the first woman chairperson of a football supporters club in South Africa.
Before being elected chairperson, she was the club’s brand ambassador and was tasked with marketing the club.
“As chairperson, I will lead the committee on a strategic level in terms of the organisation’s mission, vision and other goals.”
Asked how she took a liking to football and Liverpool, she said: “It’s a funny story. I was about six-years-old and my uncle, Ramo Pillay, was watching a game, and he told me I should support Liverpool as he was a player in the team. Being young, I was excited and did not realise he was kidding. I grew up watching and supporting them until I realised he had been lying to me.”
Being the only woman to occupy this position, she said she felt empowered and proud.
“It shows that women don’t have to resort to the olden days, thinking of knitting as a sport. We can participate and watch these games with men. I think more women should get involved, and support teams and if they become members of the Liverpool Supporters Club they will qualify for a lot of benefits, including reduced ticket prices to attend games.”
While most other women dream of their perfect wedding, Govender revealed: “I don’t dream of a wedding. I dream of the day I get to visit Anfield.”
The KZN club, she said, had a membership of 148.